Peter Molyneaux showed off the long awaited (but pretty much expected) online co-op mode for Fable 2; but he had one surprise up his sleeve. The surprise was a seemless co-op experience which integrates into your single player game. At anytime while walking around the game world you will see these orbs floating around, they represent your friends currently playing the game and their spot in their respective worlds. Simply walk up to the orb, and you can invite your friend into your world.

So we finally know all the details of Gears of War 2's co-op mode, and while we didn't get a true 4 player co-op mode, we did get a brand new 5 player co-op mode. The mode will have players facing wave after wave of enemies in an increasing number and difficulty.

While looking through the press kits for all the stuff Microsoft showed off today, I came across a fact sheet for Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 and it will indeed have 4-player online co-op.
Update: Yes the bad news is it won't be online co-op.
The game will feature 5 new game modes, including a Co-Pilot mode wher...

As of today, the demo for Too Human is available on Xbox Live. It weighs in at just over a gig. I had the chance to play through it this afternoon; the demo, unfortunately, has no co-op, just single player campaign mode. That was disappointing for sure, but the demo itself was impressive. There's a real God of War feel to it, in that you are hacking through hordes of enemies with crazy weapons. However, RPG elements like leveling up and gaining equipment add quite a bit of depth. The cut scenes were well done, though at times it was unclear when you were actually in control. The "cyberspace" wells are quite interesting, giving the game a feel a bit like Metroid Prime 2, where actions in one world effect the other. My final playtime was around 50 minutes or so. Now that you have my thoughts, why don't you tell us what you thought of the demo? Awesome? Boring? Let us know!

Quite a bit of co-op news from the Microsoft Presser today.
Gears of War 2 will have a 5-player co-op multiplayer game mode called Horde. Unfortunately, the main game will only see 2-player co-op. Game is coming November 7th, 2008.
Resident Evil 5 will have 2-player co-op. Game is coming March 13th, 2009.
Fable 2 will...

This week CDV showed of a plethora of titles that we are going to see over the following year. They also spent a lot of time showing off their new action RPG, developed by Ascalon, Sacred 2. The game is set to hit the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this fall.

E3 kicks off tomorrow at 10:30 AM Pacific Time with Microsoft Press conference. While a price cut is imminent for Microsoft, we also hope we'll hear a bit about some new and interesting titles that feature co-op play. In fact, one thing I personally hope for throughout the whole show is to see some new franchises, not just sequels, that have a great focus on co-op.

PSP owners have probably heard of the quirky rhythm/RTS/puzzler/whatever Patapon. As you can tell from the above screenshot, it's a rather... unique game. Gameplay is rhythm based, and by giving your little dudes different orders with your drums, they act differently. It's hard to explain, for sure. In any event, a sequel to Patapon has just been announced, as you can read at 1Up. Of note to Co-Optimus readers is the inclusion of co-op multiplayer!

I must admit I know next to nothing about 50 Cent. His name came up in the Transformers movie, that's about all I know. Well, that, and that there is a co-op game featuring 50 Cent on the way. (The extent of my knowledge then, is probably a couple steps away from nothing, I guess.) A new trailer for 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand has been released on Youtube. I particularly enjoyed the movie trailer style narration! Check out the video after the break.

Earlier this week, you got a taste for classic co-op in Broodax's column, featuring ToeJam and Earl. I felt it would be a good idea then, to discuss co-op games I played this week in my column. As it turns out, I played one classic co-op game, one that will be a classic, and one that isn't a classic at all, but was a decent way to spend an hour or two. I'll leave it you to decide which was which from this list: Diablo II, Lego Indiana Jones, and Ben 10.

Sometimes you just know the title of a game is going to sell it. Carmageddon for example. Yeah, I'll buy that. Doom. Yup, sign me up. Blades of Steel. I'll take two please.
But when a game is called Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers we can't help but think they are going about this the wrong way. Sure there's nothing wrong with women in bikinis slaying zombies. In fact, we encourage it. But something tells me the hardcore Nintendo fans of Mario and Zelda combined with the "non traditional" Wii-Sports gamers aren't your best target market. You see, this is a Wii title. Not a 360, not a PS3, not a PC...but a Nintendo Wii title. Just think of the waggling possibilties for this one!
All joking aside the game does promise players the ability to use the Wii-mote "swinging and thrusting into zombie enemy hordes." And of course we wouldn't be talking about the game if there wasn't some promised co-op feature, which there is. It looks like two players will be able to play through the story mode each utilizing their "own unique fighting style." Bikinis optional.